With lower income taxes and state funds for site development eventually on the way, a pair of bills inked by Governor Andy Beshear and passed out of the Kentucky House have the attention of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council.
Meeting Monday and for the first time since the conclusion of the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly, SWK EDC Executive Director Carter Hendricks noted House Bill 8 and House Bill 745 could have considerable impact on Trigg, Christian and Todd counties.
A 208-page update and reworking of the state’s income tax law, Hendricks said House Bill 8 helps graduate from 6% to eventually 0%, as long as specific benchmarks are met along the way.
Hendricks added that House Bill 475, which asked city/county/towns or municipal corporations to assess and collect local taxes and license fees, was often coupled with HB 8, but it didn’t rise out of the Senate’s Appropriations & Revenue Committee.
House Bill 745, meanwhile, changes a state budget line item from $3 million annually for site development statewide to more than $200 million statewide — with half going to mega-site infrastructure and the other half being evenly divided among the 120 counties and a maximum of $2 million per site project.
Those projects could mean anything, Hendricks said, to get a site ready for the market.
In other SWK EDC news:
— A job fair for self-professed high school seniors bound for the workforce and not college or the military is just around the corner.
Sponsored by the SWK EDC and the West Kentucky Workforce Board, the inaugural “Jobs Fest 2022” will be from 9 AM until 1 PM this Thursday at the Planters Bank-Jennie Stuart Health Sportsplex in Hopkinsville at 155 Tilley Way.
As of now, 28 business from a wide variety of sectors, mostly medically and industrially related, are on board for the event. Hendricks said the hope is for this event becoming annual tradition, with a particular focus on Todd, Trigg and Christian County senior students.
— Hendricks and EDC constituents applauded both the Cadiz and Hopkinsville Rotary clubs, each of which just completed auctions with record profits. In its 55th annual affair, Cadiz raised more than $420,000. In its 72nd splash, Hopkinsville brought in more than $530,000.
— SWK EDC was recently tabbed for the CSX Select Site Certification Program, specifically targeting the 1,300-acre Commerce Park II rail-ready site.
If awarded, Hendricks said the benefits could be big.
Hendricks said they’ll learn of their application’s acceptance or failure later this year.
